So, I think I mentioned in an earlier post that we only recently moved to Wausau, WI. My hubby accepted a new job here, and it's an awfully long commute from where we used to live in South Dakota, so... we moved. One thing we agreed on with this move was that the critters were coming with us. After all, they've all been with us since they were babies - TJ since the day he was born - and it's not their fault that we had to move, is it? They're not disposable. They're furry family members, and I just refused to leave them behind.
So. We get here and land at a hotel - the LaQuinta Inn - that allowed us to have the animals in our room with us. How cool is that? Not all hotels are pet-friendly. But because they had a king room available, and we had a crate to keep the cats in, we were golden. And for three weeks, it really wasn't horrible... except that we could not leave Lily in the room while we were gone, because the cats had to be in the crate. And, there was no way to cook anything in the room, so we had to eat out a lot. See the problem here? Fast-food drive-thrus got really old, really fast. We were so grateful the night that one of the managers told us to just go, and she'd keep an ear out for Lily and check on her if she started howling or barking. But still. You can't live like that forever.
Trying to find an apartment where the landlord allows pets, and most particularly large dogs, is very hard. So many of them have been screwed over by irresponsible pet owners in the past that those of us who are responsible get left out in the cold, as it were. Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Taking furbabies to a shelter was not an option, buying a home was not and still is not an option (but we're working on it!), staying in the hotel indefinitely was not an option.
After three weeks of searching we finally lucked into the little place where we live now. It's not my dream home, but it'll do for now. It's 1/8 of an 8-plex that's built in the shape of a plus sign, with four units on each level, each with its own exterior entrance. Those of us upstairs have decks off the living room, and those downstairs have patios. Each unit is basically four rooms with a bathroom just off the eat-in kitchen (a feature I don't really like, but it is what it is). Imagine a 20x30' box divided into four roughly equal parts and a small wart (for the bathroom, of course) off one of the short ends and you've pretty much got it. Tiny, cozy, simple.
Anyway.... when we moved in, the building was full. There was a small family below us - a man, his girlfriend, and his son. The man and girlfriend were maybe our age. We *never* heard them. Not even the boy, who was maybe 9 or 10. But then they moved out, and after a couple of months, a young man moved in with his girlfriend and one of her daughters. And they are LOUD.
Neither of them were working when they first moved in; he does little aside of playing video games all day and half the night. And he gets really into them and jumps around and thumps and bangs and yells. And we talk to him and remind him that we can hear everything upstairs. And he and his girlfriend get into "discussions". And we talk to them, and remind them that we can hear everything upstairs. Rinse, lather, repeat. It was to the point where I was getting nothing done during the day because I was too tired to move, and the hubby, bless his heart, was falling asleep at work. This is BAD. So a few nights ago, when I was lying on the couch at 1:30 a.m., hoping that the noise would quiet down, finally having to step out on my deck to remind him yet again that we could hear everything upstairs, I had had enough. So I sent an email to my landlord. And lo and behold, things have quieted down, at least after 10:30 or so at night.
At least for now. Because shortly after the new couple moved in downstairs, the folks in #2 were evicted, and then the folks in #6 moved to be with family, and then the little Asian lady who lived downstairs in #4 left because "there are too many white people here and I don't feel comfortable any more". And according to our friends who live in a similar building across the parking lot, all three of the empty units have been rented, and the first of the new tenants is supposed to be moving in this weekend. Hopefully they are not also LOUD. But we are already looking for another place, just in case. And running into the same issues we had in finding this one. Sheesh.
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